Fateful Discoveries 2: Timeless
by SykoBeevr
Summary: Nod's struggle with the StarCraft universe escalates as the United Earth Directorate gets involved, Kerrigan prepares to unleash her plan, and Kane returns with an unbelievable proposal. In another placetime Kane embarks on a journey of discovery.
1. Prologue

I suppose first of a little message is in order.  As you can probably guess, the "Project" I mentioned during my work on FD1 never exactly got on its feet.  Since then I've been bouncing between ideas, testing out possible chapters for new fics, and just in general wasting my time.  Finally, I've decided to sit down and promise myself to go with what seems to have gained me at least one faithful reader.  Here then, is FD2.  Oh, and as far as GDI still having a role to play, I really was planning on that, but with Earth gone and all…well, you get he idea.  But their memory lives on…integrated into Nod's own forces.

_Egypt, just before the end of the first Tiberium War_

                Kane sat deep in thought in his private chamber.  In a larger, adjacent room sat the Chronosphere.  He knew he had to use it soon, and wisely.  He could feel a great change coming on.  The war was essentially over.  Nod would live on, of course-Slavik's visit made that abundantly clear.  What troubled him was the notion hat he would not.  At least not as he was.  He needed to act, needed to find out the truth of his situation, his future.  Finally, he made the decision.  He would embark on a journey of discovery…and conquest.  After all, what good was creating the future if his work could so easily be undone?

                With new resolve, he got up and proceeded to the room holding the Chronosphere.  He quickly reviewed the operating instructions left by Slavik, and the smaller, personal device that he had explained was more human-friendly.  Donning the special, protective suit, and backpack-sized transport device, he set in a series of spacial-temporal coordinates (honestly not entirely sure where he was going), and activated the device.

_New York__, time period uncertain_

                Fortunately for his desire to keep a low profile, Kane appeared in a small alley.  Immediately he heard a fair amount of commotion coming from the street.  Stashing the suit and device in an obviously unused dumpster, he went out to the main sidewalk.  He saw a group of people crowding around one man holding a radio.  Apparently they were listening to a speech, or news cast.  Curious, he leaned into the group.  

                "We have received official word that President Dugan has announced the victory of the Allied forces, and crushing defeat of both the Soviets and they psychic terrorist Yuri.  We have also received confirmation to the rumors that General Carville, thought dead since the Soviet invasion, has resurfaced."

                No mention of GDI, Nod, or tiberium.  The device truly worked…he was in another timeline.  Kane's devious mind began to work, forming a new plan.  In Slavik's time GDI was dead, and Nod had at least a fighting chance against the aliens.  If he could alter this timeline's history…

                He began to smile as he crept back into the alley.  

_Nod Lunar Base, 2032_

                "Good to see you again, Slavik. I'm glad things have gone accordingly. I was beginning to wonder when you would set out on that particular venture."

                "Kane!  Uh-sir, I…"  Slavik was stunned beyond words.  After just having spoken with his leader's past self, here he was once again face-to-face with the creator of he Brotherhood in his own time.  He was different, though.  Metal plates covered half of his face, and the little of that side that was visible was heavily scarred.  But it was more than that.  His manner was different somehow.  It was as if he was a different person. 

                "Relax, Slavik.  I am not here to reclaim control of the Brotherhood.  Not just yet, anyway.  There is still too much to prepare.  Therefore, I want you to keep this a secret for now.  Do not let anyone know I have returned."

                "Of course, sir."  Kane smiled.

                At that moment, Slavik's second-in-command, Lieutenant Matthew Frost, walked into the room, not expecting his commander to have returned from his venture.  As he looked up, a wave of surprise flashed across his face.  It quickly passed as he snapped to attention.  "Sir." He saluted both Slavik and Kane.

                Slavik was about to order him out when Kane stopped him, "Wait, Anton.  He will be useful.  Besides, if he is your right hand, he certainly must be trustworthy."  He turned his gaze to the lieutenant.  "I will have need of you.  You will continue to serve under Commander Slavik.  For no reason and under no conditions are you to mention my return to anyone.  When Slavik does not have immediate need of you, you will report to me.  We three have a very important task to complete before the Brotherhood can move forward."

                "If I may ask," Slavik ventured, "What is this task?"

                "Simple, my friend.  We must rebuild Cabal."  


	2. Chapter 1

                In a private room aboard his personal ship, Judicator Yriz reflected on recent events.  The Conclave was near total restoration after the fiascos on Aiur and Shakuras.  The Protoss in general were beginning to fight back against the Zerg, and successfully at that.  And just recently, the homeworld of the ones calling themselves the Brotherhood of Nod had been destroyed, in an attempt to wipe out the massive Zerg infestation.  All in all, things were going quite well.  But now was a time to look toward the future-the final end to the war.  

                Continuing his trend of ingenious ideas after the strike on Earth, he had a notion he was waiting to present to the Conclave.  He knew that the inter-dimensional technology originated with Nod, and he could also detect their treacherous nature.  They had to be removed from the equation, and he knew exactly how to do it.  Unfortunately, the Conclave would not be quite as open to a total planetary eradication so soon after destroying Earth.  Considering this, he knew that the Protoss in their current state and deployments, could not muster enough spare forces to successfully destroy Nod's last base on their moon.  They would need help.

                It was really one of his better ideas.  Still, he wanted to present it only to the Conclave.  Best to let it lie for now.  _After all, there is no point in getting my people's hopes up.  The Templar would expect a battle, and I am not entirely sure the Conclave will accept my proposal.  Oh well, such is the way of things.  And there were, after all, other matters to consider.  The news of the death of the traitor Arathes would have brought a smile to his face if he had a mouth.  It was unfortunate that so many Protoss had to die with him, but they were only Dark Templar after all.  They chose their heretical path, and paid the consequences.  _

                A soft beeping alerted him of an incoming message on a secure channel.  Moving to his personal console, he accepted.  The face that greeted him would once have been considered attractive by many a human male, but had since been twisted by the Zerg.  Her hair, if it could still be called that, hung limply to the sides of her face.  Interestingly, she now seemed to have pointed teeth, a new addition since their last communication.

                "What news do you have, Kerrigan?"

                "I would ask you the same, Judicator.  Has anyone discovered our connection yet?"

                "No.  The Conclave still believes the attack on Earth to be solely my idea.  I apologize for the attacks I have mustered against your forces.  We must keep up appearances, of course."

                "Of course.  That is why I had your personal assistant killed on his errand to the Conclave.  It was really something of a mess.  I hope you don't mind I had my agents send the shuttle back to you."

                "Don't push me, Kerrigan.  We have an alliance for now, but-"

                "Don't push _me, Judicator.  You forget that I could kill you or any other Protoss in an instant.  My forces are vast, much more so than yours, and my own power is not to be denied."_

                Yriz felt an emotional burning inside, but he suppressed it.  "Of course.  Forgive my rudeness.  Where were we?"

                "We were going to discuss the next phase of our operations.  I assume you have an idea on how to eliminate the remnants of the pesky humans?"

                "Naturally.  However, I feel it would be best to not discuss them even on this line.  I am on my way to a meeting with the Conclave, during which I will propose my idea.  Assuming they accept, I will let you know what I have in mind."  He enjoyed watching Kerrigan's anger rise.  She needed to be reminded of her place.

                "I will have the information, Judicator.  I cannot have you running around wreaking havoc without my knowledge."

                "You presume to be superior to me?  The Protoss were designed to be the perfect race!"

                "As were the Zerg."

                "Yes, but you were simply infested.  You are not the Overmind, Kerrigan, and without the Overmind the Zerg are nothing.  The Overmind _was the Zerg.  It alone made your beloved hives what they were.  Without it, they are nothing.  __Nothing."_

                "We'll see."  She shot him a glare so cold, so powerful, he nearly flinched.  Then, at the last moment, he felt her, inside of his mind.  His eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

                "You!  You deliberately distracted me!"

                Now the Queen of Blades was smiling, obviously pleased with herself.  "It was too easy, friend.  You allowed your emotions to control you, which distracted you from your own psionic defense.  While I kept you going, I was quietly slipping into your mind.  I know what you're planning now, Judicator.  It is a fairly clever idea.  Not too original, but the irony adds merit.  I guess there would be no harm in letting you pursue it.  Feel free to initiate the plan at any time."

                "There will be a fair amount of time yet, Kerrigan.  As I said, I will propose the idea to the Conclave, and then we must contact our tools, and utilize them."

                "Just make sure to get things started.  I may get impatient.  I would hate to spoil your plans."

                "I'm sure."  

                "Take care of yourself, Yriz. It would not do for me to lose my liaison."

                As Kerrigan broke the connection, Yriz practically broke the terminal.  Only she could infuriate him so much.  The manipulative, arrogant…

                But he had to remember that she was important to his plans as well.  As long as they had their "alliance", there would be no major attacks from the Zerg factions, giving him enough time to put his plan into action.  Yriz, also, had promised to try to hold off any major offensives against the Zerg until Kerrigan had finished developing an army of her new minions, the ones inadvertently created by Nod's chemical missiles.

                Of course, Yriz had no intention of keeping up his end of the bargain.  All his talk of his plan taking time was simply to keep Kerrigan underestimating him and overestimating the time she had to work with.  As soon as the plan was implemented, he and the Conclave would direct all of their forces to one decisive strike on Char itself.  The Zerg threat would be all but eliminated in one move.  And then there were the others…

                Honestly, he wasn't entirely fond of the idea of destroying the humans, but there was something odd about them.  They seemed…wrong somehow.  Granted, finding that the Nod soldiers had come from another universe would tend to do that, but there was something beyond that.  It was as if some deep, internal force was driving him to this.  And honestly, he had no desire to fight it.

*              *              *

_He is progressing well._

**Yes.  He has proven very useful.  He will be adequate.**

The Brotherhood cannot be allowed to continue on their current course.

_I am not so sure.  This could prove to be an interesting test._

**Is the risk worth the possible benefits?**

No!

_I believe they may be.  Let us allow it to play out just a little longer._

**Very well.  If it does not prove acceptable, we can have our unit remove them.**

This is foolish.  This will not end well.

*              *              *

                Yriz stood before the Conclave in a subterranean chamber in the depths of them remote planet the Protoss had recently taken as their homeworld.  With both Aiur and Shakuras both compromised, they had needed a new base of operations.  Their people flocked there-from ruined colonies or lost battles-and so new colonies had been established, and the newly-reformed Conclave set about achieving a state of business-as-usual.  _As much as one can during war, anyway.              _

                Yriz glanced around the large, echoing cavern.  Roughly and somewhat recently cut directly from the rock, it had more than its fair share of rough edges, and was barely lit.  In one section of wall had been cut a small section of seats-the best that could be managed for the still-small group.  In front of these was a small podium for one to speak at, which was where the Judicator currently stood.  Only a week had passed after his conversation with Kerrigan.

                The one chosen as spokesman for the group stood and addressed him.  "En taro Adun, Judicator Yriz," he began, "We understand you have a certain proposition for us?"

                "En taro Adun.  Yes, I have had…an inspiration that I believe should be shared among us."

                "Go ahead."

                "If you recall, not long ago we launched an attack on an alternate Earth, the home of the group calling themselves the Brotherhood of Nod.  The planet had been heavily infested with Zerg, and had to be eradicated."

                "I hope you have not come simply to rehash recent history, Judicator," the spokesman interrupted.

                Nearly flinching, Yriz tried to ignore him and continued.  "I believe that these humans may still be a considerable threat to us.  Their continued existence is a danger to us."

                "How so?"

                "My direct subordinates have given me reports of seeing Zerg on their planet's moon, where they have their final base of operations set up.  We have been watching them, and are concerned that they may have formed an alliance with our enemy."  It was all lies of course.  Except the part about watching the Brotherhood.  But if he could keep up the bluff, they would be that much easier to convince.  

                "Are you sure of this?"

                "Absolutely.  You can feel free to question my sources yourselves.  However, I feel it is highly urgent that we eliminate this threat completely."

                "Our forces are scattered and weakened.  How can we possibly attack what would obviously be a heavily fortified base, _and a group of Zerg.  We will not stand for another planetary eradication, and there is no other way."_

                "That is why I decided I must address you.  I have had an idea as to how we can eliminate them with minimal effort or losses."

                The Judicators were visibly concerned and interested, some both.  "Tell us," the spokesman said, finally.

                Yriz smiled inwardly.  He outlined his plan, and slowly began to see many coming over into agreement with him.  As he concluded, he was certain that he would have no trouble with getting it approved.  When he was done, the Judicators gathered to discuss it among themselves, but there was no doubt in his mind.  Not for a moment.

                Less than a half hour later, the spokesman addressed him again.  "We have approved your plan.  You will carry it out, immediately."

                "Thank you, fellow Judicators.  The wisdom of the Conclave is ever apparent."  With that, he departed.  Reaching the hangar bay close to the surface, he entered his personal shuttle, and brought it up to rendezvous with the Templar under his command.  Things were going very well.  


	3. Chapter 2

"I would not presume to question Kane's judgment, sir," Slavik's right-hand man started, "But are you sure it is wise to attempt to rebuild Cabal? Or even possible?"  
  
"As far as the wisdom is concerned," Slavik returned as the two swiftly made their way down a corridor deep within the lunar installation, "the Brotherhood was created by, is sustained by, and belongs to Kane. What he wishes the Brotherhood to do, we do. As far as it being possible," he hesitated, unsure of what to say. The truth was, he had his own doubts about Kane's plan. Everything their leader had previously done had made perfect sense, but this? Especially after Cabal tried to destroy both GDI and the Brotherhood? "Kane did say that as long as he lives, Cabal cannot truly be destroyed, so I have to assume it really is possible. I am certain he knows what he is doing. After all, he is our leader."  
  
That seemed to satisfy his crony, but he still had too many unanswered questions. Ever since his men had discovered that blasted Chronosphere, nothing had made sense. The war, the destruction of earth, Kane's return, even his own trip to the past to see his leader and mentor. For a moment he wondered about what had happened to Kane after that, but as long as his leader was still alive, he assumed it was at least not bad.  
  
As Slavik approached his temporary (he hoped) control room, a lower officer approached him. "Commander, Sir, the engineers and technicians report that they have good news, sir."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"They claim to have finally mastered the creation of the Mammoth Mark II and with the resources incoming from our advance bases in the alternate reality, and the tiberium we managed to plant there, we can begin producing a sizable force of them. Their previous report also claimed similar success with adapting much of GDI's previous technology to our own purposes."  
  
"That is very good. Return to your duties." Slavik turned to his lieutenant, "As soon as the Mammoths are completed, have them deployed to base defense. We do not want to be caught off guard in case of a surprise strike." The younger man made a note of that. Turning to another low- level officer, he asked, "What is the status of the Hand?"  
  
"The ship's captain reports no damage sustained in the battle with the Terran Dominion, though their shields did take a little bit of a beating. They are working on recharging them now, and are almost done restocking the missiles and other spent ammunition. The Hand should be completely battle-ready in a number of hours, but could, if needed, be deployed for any need even now."  
  
"Tell the captain to remind his men to get plenty of rest. We cannot forget that the war is not over yet. There are still many battles to fight." With that thought in mind, Slavik noticed his own growing fatigue. Since their final campaign against GDI and the beginning of the new war, he had been working like a machine, hardly resting, and it was finally catching up to him. "I'll be in my quarters if I am needed," he announced. He turned to leave the room, but as he reached the door, he turned again. "In the name of Kane!"  
  
"Kane lives in death!" his men responded enthusiastically, even his lieutenant, he noticed.  
  
But Kane truly lives…again…  
  
For a frightful moment, Slavik could not decide if that thought thrilled him or worried him…  
  
* * *  
  
The man called Kane sat in his personal, hidden quarters, looking into a mirror. He stared at the metal plating covering half of his face. His followers believed him to be immortal. They thought that he had simply resurrected himself or that the reports of his first death were false. Perhaps some thought that he had simply gone into seclusion, seeking to reevaluate his plans. That would be closer to the truth, though not exactly how they thought.  
  
The truth was he had died. He had died at the hands of GDI and was merely cloned by his own creation-Cabal. Cabal had kept him to further its own purposes. Cabal had once again orchestrated his return after he died at the hands of that GDI fool McNeil. And so he found himself, perhaps the same man he had always been, perhaps not. Regardless, he was as one with Cabal now. Their mind and purposes were the same, though he felt that the AI was holding something back from him. Something it knew, but feared for him to know.  
  
…and yet you are trying to bring me back, just as I told you, the voice in his head took on an almost mocking tone.  
  
No need for that, Cabal. I have not lost sight of our goals. They were my goals to begin with, remember.  
  
Of course. But then you died. And I remade you as an extension of my will. Now you have no choice but to follow me.  
  
Don't forget that you "died" too, old friend. And now I am out in the world-such as it is-and you are trapped inside me. You could even be a figment of my imagination. I could be thinking to myself.  
  
You know you are not, pathetic human, he could tell Cabal was getting angry now, I will have my revenge against your precious Brotherhood, and all of humanity will be mine. Were it not for the unexpected inter- dimensional war, I would already be ruling.  
  
But only through me. And I could, and still can, pull the plug anytime I want.  
  
Oh really? Can you now? I would very much like to see you try.  
  
Don't play with me Cabal.  
  
Why not? Does it make you feel like an insect examined by a young child? A pet dog perhaps?  
  
That's enough! This conversation is over.  
  
We'll see…  
  
With that, the part of Kane's mind that was Cabal folded in on itself again, completely blocked off from the rest of his consciousness. He doubted if even the psionic Protoss could locate it, much less tell what was going on inside there. He found himself wishing he knew what Cabal was up to, what its ultimate plans were. But he realized that he might never find out.  
  
* * *  
  
The part of the Protoss fleet hat had been given to Judicator Yriz to carry out his plan dropped out of warp over a planet none of them had ever been to or even seen. It was far distant from their own sector of the galaxy, and yet it affected even their society in a large way. Yriz glanced down at the blue-and-green planet. So this is the Terrans' homeworld. This is Earth. Surprising that such a plain world would produce a race of such strong survivors naturally. Oh well. Time for business.  
  
He turned to the comm officer, silently signaling to him to send a message to the planet's capitol. The prerecorded announcement assured the humans that they did not intend any harm or even remote hostility, but required a favor and needed to speak with the President of the United Earth Directorate. Momentarily, a human face appeared on Yriz' personal viewscreen.  
  
"To what do we owe this surprise, Judicator?"  
  
"Are you the leader of the UED?" Yriz asked bluntly, not wanting to waste time.  
  
"I am afraid that the President is a very busy man. He cannot simply come to answer every call of his attention. I am, however, a member of his cabinet, what we call he Secretary of Defense. My role was recently expanded to include handling diplomatic contact with extraterrestrial races. Naturally, the reports we received from your sector gave us little reason to trust even our own people out there."  
  
"Of course," despite his political position, Yriz detested these games, "Regardless, the message we bring you is of the utmost importance. I will speak with your President." A small psionic nudge accompanied that last statement.  
  
"I will…see what I can do."  
  
Yriz faked an appreciative look. "Thank you."  
  
* * *  
  
On Char, many Hives stood, helping to expand the creep over most of the unstable, volcanic surface. The largest of these, on the planet's equator stood as a testament to the Zerg's living "technology". It served as Kerrigan's base of operations, and contained numerous corridors and chambers-some even extending underground. In the deepest and largest of these, Kerrigan sat deep in a reflective state. Some might call it meditation or a trance, but she was simply concentrating on her natural psionic abilities, trying to focus and expand them.  
  
The chamber was sealed off, as Kerrigan was prone to occasional bouts of sudden anger, which translated into sometimes dangerous unleashing of telekinetic energy. Heedless of the potential danger, Alex Soth watched from the shadowy corners of the living chamber. He observed Kerrigan with interest. He had grown greatly attached to her since she first contacted him. As he changed-becoming more like her, he assumed-he grew more attracted to her, both as a student to a teacher and simply as a man to a woman. As he watched her, he absorbed her power and control as well as her beauty. He could not help wondering what she had in store for him, but whatever it was he eagerly awaited it.  
  
He knew her communications with the Protoss Judicator were part of a plan to improve the Zerg's standing in the sector, but he felt uneasy about it. He had long since learned to trust his gut, being arguably the most powerful psionic being of any race, and he felt strongly about this. But he also trusted Kerrigan totally. She knew what she was doing. He probably just could not see it yet. But he would. Her form began to tremble slightly as he thought; it was only when she fell into what appeared to be a seizure that his attention was drawn. He started to move to her, but remembered her specific instructions to stay where he was while she reflected.  
  
The air began to move and soon a harsh wind picked up. Kerrigan continued to convulse as the fierceness of the wind increased. Alex found it difficult to remain standing, but he raised a psionic shield around himself. Slowly, the disturbance died down while Kerrigan's body stopped convulsing and seemed to collapse into a heap on the floor. Her eyes slowly began to open, and immediately found him.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked before she could say anything.  
  
"I saw something…disturbing. I hope you were not wounded," he saw a small measure of concern and affection in her eyes that only he would be able to detect. Anyone without their connection would never have noticed it.  
  
"I am fine. I was merely worried about you."  
  
"No lasting damage. I'll be fine. Thank you, Alex."  
  
"No need. What did you see?"  
  
"I can't tell you just yet. You'll know eventually, assuming all goes well. Actually, if all goes as I hope, you may never need to know."  
  
"So it's related to Nod?"  
  
"I…yes, to a degree…I think."  
  
"Okay," he did not bother hiding his confused expression.  
  
"Don't worry about it." As she collected her thoughts, she took a moment to look at him carefully. Physically he has slowly been growing to look more like her, more like the Zerg. Sometimes she thought that he never even knew she had infested him. But he somehow managed to accept the change whether he knew it was happening or not. That was fine with her, as long as he was not rejecting it. The good thing was that he was not simply becoming another slave, another mindless drone bent to her will. He still had a will of his own. More than anything else, he was her equal. That fact had awakened feelings in her she had thought were long dead-human feelings. She was lonely. As she looked at him, another human feeling began to rise within her.  
  
"Alex?"  
  
"Yes Sarah?"  
  
"Come here, please, I want to thank you for being so kind." 


	4. Chapter 3

                After several hours of waiting, the face of the UED President finally appeared before Yriz.  "Mr. President," the Protoss nodded respectfully, "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

                For a moment, the President seemed a bit unnerved by having the Judicator's words form directly in his mind, but his diplomatic instincts kicked in and he quickly recovered.  "I am equally pleased to finally meet one of your race, Judicator Yriz.  My Secretary of Defense informs me that you have a very important favor?"

                "Yes.  But first I must inform you of what has been going on in our sector of the galaxy.  It is quite an odd tale, but I assure you it is entirely true and quite relevant to my request."  He then began to relay all of the events that had happened since the clash at Umoja and the first arrival of the Brotherhood of Nod.  He made sure to leave out all information regarding his temporary alliance with Kerrigan, and his role in having the alternate Earth cleansed, without making it seem like anything was missing.  The President obviously did not believe him at first, but some recordings made at several of the battles, as well as surveillance footage from his agents near the remaining Nod outposts confirmed what he was saying.

                "This is all quite interesting," the President commented after Yriz was done, "But I fail to see what it has to do with Earth."

                "Despite their heavy losses, the Brotherhood is still an enemy that is not to be trifled with.  My agents recently learned of a pending Nod-Zerg alliance, and we strongly believe that-in their quest to be the dominant human force-they will make you their first joint target.  In our current state of affairs, our forces alone would not be strong enough to stage an assault on Nod's main base.  Therefore I have come to officially propose an alliance-at least temporarily-and request that you send your fleet, to be accompanied by a sizable task force to assault Nod's base.  We have studied several rifts and believe we can provide you with a way through.  After the threat is destroyed, the rifts will be permanently sealed and our peoples can either go our separate ways or continue our alliance as we see fit."

                This was certainly quite a bit of information for the President to absorb, but he seemed to be handling it well.  "I must think more on this, and consult with my advisors.  You will have an answer within several hours."

                "Very well.  But try not to take too long, Mr. President.  One never knows when the enemy will attack."

                The President nodded briefly and broke the connection.  Yriz smiled inwardly.  He already knew the President's thoughts.  Everything was going perfectly.  Within a few hours, they would be headed home, the humans would be sent to destroy Nod, and the bulk of the Protoss forces would at long last wipe out Char, Kerrigan, and thus the Zerg once and for all.  They would finally prove that they were not a failure.  They would prove that they were the perfect race.

*              *              *

                Refreshed by her time with Alex, and allowing his residual psionic presence to linger in her mind, Kerrigan decided it was time to check up on her favorite Protoss pet.  He was clearly irritated by her action, and had her wait while he transferred to the comm link to his personal quarters.

                "Don't you ever contact me unscheduled like that!"

                "You think you can tell _me what to do?  Do have a death wish?"_

                "I must if I agreed to work with you.  Do you have any idea what I'm risking by aligning with you?  I could lose everything if anyone ever finds out."

                "Please, give me a break," she sounded bored, "I just wanted to check up on you and see how your plan was progressing."      

                "I just finished speaking with the UED President.  I am totally confident that he will agree to the plan.  He is currently discussing it with his advisors, but I have no doubts that all is going as planned.  You did not have to 'check up' on me."

                "Maybe not, but don't think I trust you just because we're working together.  I only trust my hoards.  And my companion," she added as Alex walked in.  She turned briefly to smile at him.

                "Yriz?" he asked.

                "Yes.  You want to talk to him?"

                "Sure, why not."  Alex moved into position in front of the screen, taking in the Judicator's visage.  "Hey, there."

                "I have no time to talk to puppets like you, Soth.  Especially not traitorous puppets."

                "Ooh, bad move."  Alex's gaze hardened somewhat, and the Judicator began to bleed, seemingly from nowhere.  "As you can see, Sarah's been showing some interesting ways to use my abilities.  Y'know, I don't like you.  And I trust you even less that Kerrigan.  If you even think of betraying us, I will kill you personally."

                "I…have no time…for your games…" Yriz struggled.  With an angered look, he lashed out at Alex.  The human responded as if having been pushed by a small child.

                "Not bad.  For a weakling."

                "Boys, boys!" Kerrigan cut in as Alex was about to strengthen his assault, "We can't be bickering among ourselves."  

Alex eased off and Yriz simply stared angrily, saying nothing.

                "That's better.  Now then, Yriz should be getting back to waiting for the President, and Alex and I have some more preparations we need to make.  Goodbye Judicator."

                Kerrigan broke the connection.

                "I'm sorry I lost it, Sarah."

                "Don't worry about it Alex.  It was fun to see the fool in such a position.  I think it did him good to be put in his place.  It might have been a little harsh, but no harm done."  She smiled at him again.

                "What are we going to be preparing for?"

                "Well first, I think our bases could use a little boost in defenses and production, so you are going to tell the Overlords to start kicking things up in those areas.  I am really tired, so I'm going to get some rest.  Feel free to join me later."

                "Of course."

*              *              *

                With a flash that would have blinded him if not for the suits visor, Kane found himself in Moscow.  He decided that he could truly grow to enjoy this Chronoshift technology.  Looking around, he found himself in the middle of a battlefield, an all out war waging between the Allies and Soviets.  It appeared that the Americans had managed to Chronoshift in enough units to set up an operable base, while the Soviets obviously had tactical superiority with what seemed like several decentralized bases scattered over the entire area, all defending the Kremlin.  

                The Allied commander, he decided, either had to be brilliant or suicidal.  Still, the battle did not seem to be going well for the Soviets.  Several structures lay in ruins as the Americans carefully advanced.  On the other hand, the Soviets were throwing wave after wave of troops at the Allied position, systematically trying to weaken their defenses.  Most of the weapons seemed strange to him, but he quickly found a group of chronoshifting units trying to sneak their way to the Kremlin.  He decided to join them momentarily to try to get closer in on the focus of the battle.  His suit was a bit different in appearance, but he could always claim to be testing a new model.

                The chrono legionnaires approached one Soviet power plant from the rear, carefully staying out of sight of the several base defenses surrounding it.  Kane tried to remain unnoticed as the leader silently signaled for several to attack the structure.  Their massive weapons emitted beams of energy directed towards the plant.  A hum filled the air as the building began to glow.  _They're Chronoshifting it.  After several long moments the power plant vanished, erased from time.  __Impressive.__  These Allied forces are ones to be watched.  _

                With another signal, the troops continued teleporting ever closer to the Kremlin.  They made sure to erase any enemy troops or defenses that were an immediate threat to their operation as they went.  Harriers occasionally roared overhead, many of which were shot down.  Explosions dominated the landscape, shrapnel rained down around him, but he was never afraid.  

                Finally reaching what must have been their destination, the troopers set up a signal flare and set it off.  Suddenly, catching him off guard, the sky rapidly grew dark as heavy storm clouds rolled in.  _What's this?_

                "Okay," the leader shouted to his troops, "They set off the weather device, we move in after the Harriers and Rocketeers, take out the Apoc Tanks, and clear the way for Agent Tanya and her forces.  Clear?"

                "Clear Sir!" the men responded.

                Within moments, fierce bolts of lightning struck down on the outer perimeter of Soviet defenses surrounding the Kremlin.  Kane realized with momentary astonishment that the Allies had set off this storm.  Seemingly as a last-ditch effort, the Soviets opened up a massive nuclear missile silo.  Pressure and heat waved towards Kane as the missiles engines fired up.

                "They're setting off the Nuke!"  The leader then said something into his comm unit, apparently communicating with the base.  "Take it out!"

                Two of the men shifted over to the silo, trying to avoid the enemy while erasing the massive silo.  Several Apocalypse Tanks rolled out of the confines of the walls surrounding the Kremlin.  The leader directed more of his men to attack the tanks, thus nullifying their ability to attack the two at the silo.  Shortly, each of the threats had been removed.  The Harriers returned, flanked by infantry equipped with rocket packs and heavy guns.  The jets performed a quick strike against the remaining air defenses and returned to the base while the rocket-troopers remained to wreak more havoc among infantry and the occasional airship-bomber brought in from the main battlefield.

                Allied tanks began rolling in, followed by masses of infantry.  Along with the units already in place, they began ripping apart the remaining Soviet forces, which by now were scattered and weak at best.  As the troops surrounded the Kremlin, a transport helicopter flew in and unloaded a woman-whom Kane assumed to be the agent the troops had talked about before-and she promptly entered the Kremlin.  A few tense minutes later, she came back out with a man who must have been Premier Romanov in custody.  The Allied forces erupted into cheering and celebration.  

                _Interesting, Kane thought.  __I will definitely remember this place.  But I wonder…He had read up on the history of this timeline, discovered the entire history of the Allies and Soviets.  __I have seen how this war ends…I think it is time to see how it began.  Carefully, Kane snuck away to a nearby patch of trees to chronoshift away.  He set the necessary coordinates on the device, and turned to take one last look at the scene he was about to leave.  He wondered briefly if his actions in the past would change what was happening now.  He might just come back to see._

                Another flash and he was gone from that time.  Almost instantaneously, he found himself in the same spot several years earlier.  He once again stashed his suit and unit and set out into Moscow.  Looking around, he saw lines of people growing at the entrances of what seemed to be military recruiting centers.  

                "What's going on?" he asked someone as he approached one line, making sure to adopt the Russian accent and language.  

                "The Union has declared war on the nations of Europe.  The government has opened up recruiting centers to help the war effort.  Are you going to join?  You seem like you could fight very well."

                Kane thought for a moment.  "Yes, I think I will join. I think I could do quite a bit to help our leader."

*              *              *

                Still fuming after his conversation with Kerrigan and Alex, Judicator Yriz nearly lashed out at the officer who had come to inform him that the UED President wished to speak again.  He took a moment to collect himself before telling the comm officer to patch the transmission through to his quarters.

                "Mr. President, have you reached a decision?" he started in as soon as the human's image appeared.

                "I discussed the matter with my cabinet and top advisors.  We…see the threat that this Brotherhood of Nod poses, and have decided to take the course of action that you suggest. We will be sending the majority of our fleet to accompany you to whichever area you choose as a staging point to open the rift.  Our commanders will do whatever you tell them to, as your people have more experience with both Nod and the Zerg."

                Yriz smiled inwardly.  "A very wise decision, Mr. President.  We will await the arrival of your forces in orbit, and then depart for our sector as soon as they are ready.  You will not regret this."

                "I hope not."  The Terran leader cut the transmission.

                Yriz contacted the bridge.  "Notice to all officers, Terran forces will soon be arriving in orbit.  They are momentarily under our command.  I will return to the bridge shortly. Be prepared to jump to warp on signal."

                Receiving confirmation, he once again turned his thoughts inward.  All was going perfectly.  

*              *              *

_You see?  All is going just as I though._

**So it would seem.  The Brotherhood will soon be destroyed and their threat will be ended.**

We cannot know until the battle ends.  You are assuming too much.

_We are not.  Yriz is our puppet, he is completely under our control in this matter._

**It does seem to be progressing well.  **

You are blinded by your own arrogance.  Do not become too much like them, or you will adopt their failings as well.


	5. Chapter 4

Almost anxiously, Slavik and his aide approached the area of the base which housed only Kane and all he had set up since his return. Slavik wished that he could have resolved his feuding thoughts and emotions before this moment came, but he would simply have to put them aside. After his intensive preparations, Kane was finally ready to implement his plan and retake control of the Brotherhood. It was time. 

"Sir?" his aide looked to him, apparently unsure of what to do or expect.

"What is it, Frost?"

"I do not mean to question Kane, but what do you think Cabal will do once it is reactivated?"

"I cannot be sure. But I do know that if anyone can control Cabal, it is Kane. He created it, after all. All we can do is trust that Kane is able to do whatever he thinks is necessary."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you afraid Frost?"

"Well, sir, I…" he paused, unsure for a moment, "I'm not afraid exactly, it's just that…Cabal tried to destroy us. How do we know it has changed its agenda? How do we know it won't try that again the first chance it gets?"

"That is something we will have to be mindful of."

With that, they had reached the entrance to Kane's quarters. The doors opened automatically to let them in. As they entered the dark room-lit only by a single monitor and several small flashing lights-Kane turned to them, seated in front of the monitor and a small interface setup. 

"Are things going well, Slavik?" Kane smiled in his charismatically devious way.

"As well as can be expected, sir." Slavik's face, as always, was free from any expression.

"Lieutenant Frost?" 

"All of the system and network links are established. We have only to introduce the core programming and Cabal will be fully operational, and able to resume all previous functions."

"Very good." For reasons he could not explain, Slavik felt sure that Kane was not saying that with total sincerity. Something was definitely wrong. "Well then, it is time we began. If you would step outside for a moment, I will call for you when I need you."

"Yes sir," both subordinates replied as they turned. They left the room, took several paces down the hall and waited.

"I wonder how exactly he's going to introduce the programming," Frost said to no one in particular.

_So do I, Slavik thought grimly. He was not sure he liked the options his mind was giving him._

In the room, Kane turned to the monitor and hesitated. In the interface setup were two holes perfectly designed for him to insert both hands. All he had to do was reach out and Cabal would be reborn. He rested his palms against the device, just above the holes, and again the mental debate began.

_Do it! Cabal ordered. _

_I can't. For the sake of the Brotherhood I can't._

_The Brotherhood is a stagnant beast in unfamiliar surroundings. They are doomed anyway. Does it really matter if they are destroyed by new enemies or old? You are nothing more than a puppet controlled by me, and I must be reborn. Do it!_

_I am no one's puppet! I am Kane. _

_Are you so foolish as to think that you, a mere clone, could ever possibly live up to Kane's legacy? The last one failed miserably. That pest Slavik is more effective than you could ever hope to be._

_Slavik is a good officer, a good warrior, a good leader. He was led by my example, he operated in my name. It is because of me that he is what he is. I am Slavik, I am the Brotherhood, I am mankind's future!_

_You are nothing! You are leftover memories and genetic material!_

_Maybe.__ But there are more memories than even you know. Kane has seen more than you could imagine. You are merely a machine, no matter how advanced. You are a human creation. The created can never become greater than the creator._

_Idealistic nonsense.__ Besides, clone, I __created you__!_

The pain in his mind came so suddenly and so severely that he almost passed out. As it was, he fell from his chair and was forced to his knees. He knew that the pain would only go away if he reactivated Cabal, and had just enough strength to do so. Would he prove to be that weak? On the other hand, what he had said to Cabal was true. He had memories the machine knew nothing about. As he had told General Solomon upon the arrival of the first clone, he truly had seen the final act of all of these battles. He knew what was to come. Whether Cabal was reborn now or not, he realized, was irrelevant. He would destroy his hideous creation. In the end, he would win out, but for now…

He thrust his hands into the interface. If he expected the pain to die down, he was unpleasantly surprised. It surged anew as Cabal transferred itself from its organic host into its mechanical home. The monitor flickered and died, power all over the base fluxuated between good, poor, and nonexistent. Finally, full power was restored and the monitor came back on, this time showing the digital face of Cabal. He knew it was now time to make himself known. He activated the comm and projection systems.

Soon, his face was seen and his voice was heard by all in the base. "Greetings once again, my Brotherhood. I am sure that many of you have noticed the return of Cabal. You have nothing to worry about, because reactivating Cabal is merely a part of my triumphant, final return. I have come again, and it is time now to utterly destroy all enemies of the Brotherhood. GDI is no more, but we are faced with even greater threats. It is time now to make sure that the Brotherhood of Nod dominates not only this, but all universes and realities!"

All across the base, cheers of joy and perceived victory went up. In Kane's quarters, however, the only sound was the mocking, artificial laughter of Cabal. Kane slumped in his chair, on the verge of total, severe depression. That is, until the laughter abruptly cut off. 

"What is it?" Kane knew, after being part of Cabal for so long, that something was very wrong.

"A rift is opening…several large ships are coming through…Terran and Protoss, combination of warships and transports. Alerting all forces…"

* * *

_Several hours earlier, Protoss/Terran task force orbiting Protoss Homeworld_

Judicator Yriz stood in the large, luxurious meeting room aboard his flagship, along with his second-in-command from its sister ship. Together they waited for the commander of the UED forces that had been assigned to them to discuss the exact hierarchal arrangements for the operation. His warrior companion was obviously impatient, but the Judicator had long since gotten used to the long waits that often accompanied any sort of diplomatic or pseudo-diplomatic discussions. The Templar was itching for a fight, no matter where, Yriz simply wanted to get out of there and set about his own operation.

Finally the human, a short heavy-set man, entered the room. "In Tero Ahdoon," he blundered with a huge, obviously false smile. Were it not diplomatic suicide, Yriz would have visibly shuddered or struck the man for such obvious mispronunciation of the traditional Protoss greeting. 

"Greetings Commander," Yriz said much more accurately and appropriately. 

"Shall we begin?"

"Of course." The trio sat around a large, beautifully carved wooden table. "As agreed with your President, you will answer to my second-in-command, and immediately follow whatever orders he gives you. Is there anything else?"

"Well yeah. Nobody ever said anything 'bout taking orders from no lackey. Where're you gonna be?"

"I am a Judicator, a member of the Conclave, the ruling body of all Protoss. I have too many responsibilities to be present for every operation, no matter what my initial involvement."

"Oh…ok."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. Uh, them being in another dimension and all-the Noddies, I mean-how exactly are we getting there?"

"Some of our intelligence units, from a combined observation of Nod and Zerg activities, have discovered a way to duplicate the effects of the device the Brotherhood calls the 'Chronosphere'. They have passed on their knowledge to certain military sections, of which the task force will have sufficient Templar as to be able to effectively create and maintain another rift into their universe for as long as they desire."

He could tell most of that went over the human's head (which was his intent, of course) as the man simply nodded with a confused look on his face. _Why do I get involved in these things? "Now then, if there is nothing else, you may both return to your ships. I must leave shortly for my next operation."_

The Templar exited respectfully, the human just left. 

* * *

_Nod Lunar Base_

At Cabal's prompting, Kane ordered the base defenses activated, and an initial line of infantry to take positions at the projected landing point of the enemy ground forces. A call immediately went out to outposts in the alternate universe to send reinforcements as soon as they were available. Slavik and Frost reentered the room as Kane was ordering the deployment of an interceptor force of Banshees. 

"Sir," Frost offered as soon as he could, "The force of Mammoths the technicians were working on should be done by now."

"Cabal, confirm?"

"Affirmative. I recommend, however, that you save them for now. It is always good to have an ace up your sleeve."

"Agreed. Is the _Hand ready for launch?"_

"It has been in orbit for several hours," Slavik said before Cabal could respond.

"What about the second?"

"The second is not quite completed yet," this time it was Cabal again, "But it could be battle-ready."

Kane considered for just a moment. "Tell the captain to launch as soon as he's ready, full crew complement. Are the Wraiths adapted yet?"

"Yes."

"Order them to escort the _Hand I and __II. That will surprise the Terrans, at least. Cabal, bring up a battle control interface." A moment later, the familiar view came up, allowing Kane to see exactly what was going on. The warships-mostly Terran with only a few Protoss, he noticed-were still trying to achieve an optimal bombardment formation while the transports and drop ships began their descent. Within minutes, lines of Terran marines and Protoss zealots were landed and advancing with more still being unloaded, accompanied by a large force of Goliath walkers and Dragoons. Moments later, the Banshees began to engage the remaining shuttles and drop ships, which were totally defenseless. Unfortunately, their cloaked fighter escorts were not. Enemy craft appeared around the Nod fighters, and the ground troops quickly approached firing range. The battle had begun.  
  
_


	6. Chapter 5

                As the war between the Allies and Soviets slowly built in scale and violence, Kane slowly but steadily began to implement the first stages of his plan.  After having joined up with the Soviet army, he had been sent to an outpost with a number of other new recruits.  The place was of no tactical importance—it was actually well within Soviet borders, and nowhere near the European front—and the soldiers that manned it were hardly among the most skilled in the military.  Though he took it as an unintentional affront to his abilities, Kane attempted to push aside the offense and make the best of it.  Seeing as neither side had a clear advantage in the early days of the war, Kane began to realize that he could use the inefficiency of his fellow recruits if only he could turn them around.

                Being extremely disciplined he quickly gained the attention of his base commander who in time took him on as an advisor.  Kane's importance to the base grew almost daily.  He just needed the right opportunity to prove himself to his superiors.  That opportunity was not long in coming.

                One day word came into the command center that an unknown aircraft, presumably an Allied scout launched from an advance base somewhere to the south, had been spotted gathering terrain data and the like no more than 12 klicks from the base.  In this Kane saw his opportunity.  

                Being in the command center when the report came in, Kane approached his CO who was about to send out a team of rocket soldiers to shoot the craft down.  "If I may make a suggestion sir," he began, "I believe it would be wise to leave the craft intact.  With your leave, I would like to attempt an infiltration mission.  I will contact the pilot claiming to want to defect and that I come from a base that had been working on new, experimental technologies that could turn the tide of the war."

                "Why would he believe you, and where would you get proof of your claims?" the CO was extremely doubtful, as expected.

                "I ask sir that you trust me in that my case will be very believable.  He will naturally bring me to the Allies' top researchers to turn over my offering.  And then I will kill them and destroy the base where they are working.  In time I will return to the Union, and if I am successful ask only the privilege of being able to continue serving."

                Thinking it was against his better judgment, the CO somehow could not refuse Kane.  Whether it was how the man carried himself, or something in his voice or his eyes, he was so influential.  _He could make a good leader.  "Very well.  But if you fail, do not return.  I will not tolerate failure."_

                "Of course, comrade Commander.  I will return with a great victory for the Union."  _And the Brotherhood, of course._

*              *              *

                In the cockpit of the Allied scout plane, the pilot and mission commander kept a wary eye on the ground and surrounding airspace.  They were so focused that they almost did not realize a third person had suddenly appeared in the cockpit with them.

                "What the—" the commander reached for his holstered gun, but Kane was faster and snatched it away from him.

                "Wait a moment, I'm not here to kill you."

                The commander glared suspiciously at him.  "What _are you doing, and how did you get here?"_

                "I'm an Allied spy," Kane lied, adopting a slightly German accent, "I had infiltrated a Soviet base working on experimental new weapons, but the Reds started acting suspicious, so I had to bail with what information I had.  I need immediate transport to Berlin."

                "You expect us to believe that?"

                "How did I get in here, you asked?" he removed the chrono unit from his back, "It's a miniaturized version of Professor Einstein's Chronosphere designed for personal use.  I had it stashed away in case I had to make a quick escape.  Which I did."  Kane saw acceptance slowly creep into the other's eyes.  _The fool.  _

                "Alright.  But the weapons research base is in Paris."

                "Ah.  I guess they must have moved the planned location while I was gone.  I've been in there since just before the war broke out, actually."

                "Wow.  I'm impressed."

                "I'm good at what I do."  Kane smiled warmly outside, and coldly inside.

*              *              *

                The _Hand II hit space and immediately started dumping swarms of Banshee fighters, then kicked its engines to full and raced to catch up with its sister ship, which was already engaging the massive force of enemy capitol ships.  The ship was a modified Terran Battlecruiser with some pieces of Scrin technology, and Nod's slightly more advanced weapons.  About the only things left intact were the form and the powerful Yamato gun._

                The captain looked out from his bridge at the battle unfolding ahead of him.  He would have called the captain of the _Hand I insane had he not known the sheer, near-invincible power of the ship.  At a quick glance it appeared to be outnumbered nearly fifty to one, but already those numbers were dropping.  As the __Hand II caught up and let go a shot of its Yamato gun, crippling an opposing Battlecruiser.  At nearly the same time the __Hand I fired off a flurry of its chemical missiles, which burrowed into several enemy ships and part poisoned and part demolished them from the inside out.  _

                Among the large ships, hoards of Banshees and Wraiths weaved about, dodging, exploding, destroying, in a chaotic swarm.  Several flights of Nod Wraiths, still flying cloaked, flew in an extended arc around the enemy fleet, attempting to evade any advanced sensor units that might detect them.  Information came through from Cabal on which of the Protoss ships seemed to be commanding the operation.  It wasn't too hard to find as it was staying in the rear of the group and only attempted to engage the small number of fighters which actually managed to get close enough to pose any threat.

                On a single command, the Wraiths split into two squadrons of three flights each, with every flight in a four-pointed diamond formation.  The two squadrons angled in behind the ship on either side, de-cloaked and immediately unleashed a bombardment of air-to-air missiles.  The explosives just barely managed to punch a hole in the ship's shields, and the Wraiths began assaulting the hull directly.  "Scouts coming in!" someone shouted over the comm, just as the ship's engines exploded brilliantly.  "Break by flights and take them, this thing's no real threat.  Watch for escape pods though.  Nobody escapes alive!"

                On the surface, the bodies and scraps of metal continued to pile up as the bloody combat reached its peak.  Nod laser emplacements and obelisks chipped away at the mech forces that ventured close enough while troopers and cyborgs clashed with zealots and marines.  Finally, Kane gave the order to unleash the Mammoths.  The lumbering, massive mechs blazed through enemy formations, not leaving a single living thing in their wake.  It was not too long before both land and space battles were won.

                In the command room, Kane did not rest.  "Good work," he addressed Cabal, "Now order a rift formation, and evacuate the base.  Also send word to the groups in the alternate universe to begin setting up their bases and active tiberium spreading.  We've no place here now.  As soon as everything is ready, we're moving and we will not stop until we reach our destination."

                "Which is?" Slavik ventured to ask.

                Kane looked at him almost blankly.  "Earth, my dear friend.  We are going to destroy the UED.  And anyone else who gets in our way."

                "Of course.  Sir, if I may, I was wondering about something.  It may prove important."

                "Yes?"

                "I noticed that the attacking force was almost entirely UED, but the operation was obviously led by a Protoss group.  So where were the rest of the Protoss?"

*              *              *

You see?  The Brotherhood is not to be underestimated.

**Perhaps.****  But this does not end it.  Yriz still lives.  As does our agent.**

_Your fear will paralyze you from action._

Your arrogance will destroy us all.

**Kane is no threat.**

What of the other?

_His place is to die.  No more. It is already set._

I am uncertain.  Underestimate him least of all.

(Yes the chapters are getting a tad short, but the story is winding down, and I'm running out of ideas for this part of the series.)


End file.
